After a $12.9 million record-breaking sale, the folks at Heritage Auctions outdid themselves once more. Heritage Auctions acquired a rare ticket stub for Chicago Stadium from 1984 to the game that saw the city’s biggest star arrive. Rookie Michael Jordan suited up for the Bulls on October 26, 1984, against the erstwhile Washington Bullets. The ticket stub of this game came into Heritage Auctions’ possession a few months ago, and they closed the sale on August 23.

The final hammer price is a whopping $280,600. According to the auctioneers, a family had a group of four tickets from the game where the Bulls won 109-93. The rookie in no.23 scored 16 points across 40 minutes, nowhere near the game’s top scorer, Orlando Woodridge, who scored 28 points in a few minutes. Despite the fame carried from UNC and the Olympics, not many people knew the rookie’s future stardom. And that preserving these stubs would make them all the rarer.

It’s a record price for a stub from Jordan’s debut ever. The last known sale of this 1984 game was in 2022. An ‘unused’ ticket sold for $260,000. Tickets went through a gauntlet back then, as they were ripped at the gate and were more difficult to preserve than sports cards. This makes both used and unused tickets a rarity.

This is only one of the stubs, too. As a PSA 8, it sold for a high price. A PSA 6 sold the same day for $189,100. The Heritage Auctions website has another stub from the same game with its price starting at $30,000. Another one of a higher assessment class starts at $100,000. This particular stub was part of a very lucrative weekend for Heritage Auctions. All thanks to the high volume of interest in Michael Jordan memorabilia.

Michael Jordan memorabilia under-publicized on Kobe Bryant’s day

Kobe Bryant’s birthday on August 23 and the subsequent Mamba Day went very differently for Heritage Auctions. The Dallas-based auctioneers closed over $13 million in sales of sports memorabilia with Michael Jordan’s name attached to it.

The headliner of this big collectible weekend was the Jordan-Kobe Dual Logoman card, 1-of-1, that sold for $12.9 million. The buyer collective of three people included Shark Tank’s Mr Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary. O’Leary’s involvement and the record-breaking price for a sports card overshadowed over $29.3 million in total sales of Jordan memorabilia alone.

Also sold on this weekend was a piece of the United Center floor with MJ’s signature and five inscriptions. It sold for $562,555. Another rookie memorabilia, a SCG Pristine 10, 1986 Fleer Jordan rookie gold label, went for $463,300.

Back before Air Jordans were something to be fined over, the Olympians and NBA players wore Converse. Air Jordan’s game-worn Converse shoes from the 1984 Olympics sold for $64,500. Interestingly, these same shoes initially sold for $78,000 in 2023. They come with a letter from Bobby Knight’s son, Pat, who originally had these shoes in his possession. But reportedly two other ballboys have similar shoes supposedly worn by Jordan. Because of the lack of certainty, the pair is priced really low.

Also sold were Jordan-signed 1982 NCAA championship ticket ($43,920) from when he beat Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown. Additionally, a backboard from the Cleveland Coliseum was torn down, which was the prop in a legendary moment, ‘The Shot,’ when Jordan’s superhuman hangtime over Craig Ehlo in Cleveland, went from $43,920. It surprised a few online collectors that something from this epic moment was not publicized, but the price feels a little too low by a Jordan fan’s standard.